SFAUDi

The death of Lis Utzon on Sunday August 29, 2010, at her home in Denmark closes an era. Lis tended to be overlooked but she was quite remarkable in a quiet, retiring way. a beautiful elegant woman of striking Scandinavian appearance, slim, long blond hair, she had a natural unpretentious style all her own. You might almost say that her approach to dress epitomized Utzon's own very direct and natural sense of form in his designs.

There could be no better illustration of the way that Lis, without the least intention to do so, could outshine the fashion conscious ladies of Sydney town back in the early 1960s. Fashion here of course was something, like architecture itself which was imported from the recognized leading fashion centers such as London and Paris. This was, after all the height of the haute couture era.

On their way to settle in Sydney the Utzon family stopped off for a holiday on Tahiti. It was only after they had embarked on the flight from the island that a radio telephone call informed them that Queen Elizabeth II was in town and they were invited to a special reception that day, on their arrival, on board the Royal Yacht Britannia anchored at Circular quay. A limousine picked up the couple and drove directly from Kingsford Smith to the reception, giving Lis no time to change her wardrobe, visit a hairdresser or make any elaborate preparations. It was all spontaneous. all eyes were on the Utzons as they waited in line to walk onto Britannia.

Lis appeared calm, unflappable, but at ease and natural. with here Tahitian suntan, glowing blond hair and unpretentious dress, she was perfect for the occasion and a fine ambassador for her country. She met and spoke to Patrick White, who would later remember her as a bland figure with English he described in unflattering terms. He, not surprisingly was not charmed by the Danish beauty!

Lis played a crucial role as a stabilizing figure who managed through all the rough times and crises to keep her husband's feet planted firmly on the ground. At critical moments she acted as an intermediary and spokesperson in a protective manner to shield Utzon from an aggressive media intent on creating a story at all costs.

Lis Fenger was born into a large distinguished Danish family. Her father was the chief surgeon at the main hospital in Copenhagen. Prior to meeting Utzon she was a close friend of Tobias Faber, who would do on to become Denmark's foremost architectural historian and Rector of the School of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Prior to her marriage to Utzon in 1942, Lis Fender studied design, so in a sense she made an ideal companion for the young architect. they had three children, Jan, born in Sweden (1944-) during Denmark's Occupation, Lin (1946-) and Kim (1957-) who was a later surprise addition to the family. Utzon seems to have repeated the Utzon tradition of producing just three offspring. He was the middle son of three sons, and was the only one to survive beyond the age of fifty, Erik, the youngest, died in 1952 in Morocco and the eldest brother, Leif, who had been Utzon's protector, died in Paris in 1964 at the age of 46.

Lis was a wonderful mother and it is a tribute to her parenting skills that the glaring media exposure to which they were subjected in Sydney especially did not produce any noticeable neuroses or personality defects. The two older children, Jan and Lin, possess the same lovely quiet gently natures that make them such instantly likeable personalities in real life.

Both Lis and Utzon lived to a ripe old age. Theirs was a happy graceful existence together, lived in some enviably delightful locations such as Majorca in the Mediterranean and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. the home that Utzon completed for his young family on the north coast of Zealand was in a beech forest. Alvar Aalto on a lecture visit to Denmark before WW2 was heard to remark that if he chose to live in Denmark he would ideally live in a beech forest.

Lis Utzon lived at the centre of what must have appeared to her to be the vortex of a great storm, but throughout all the atmospheric turbulence, she maintained. the same true gentle and dignified posture that never gave the least hint of what strains there were under the surface. She should be remembered as more than simply the good wife, she had her own special sense of design, which she passed on to her children and to Lin especially. the world has lost a very good person with her passing.